AN ASSORTMENT of injuries has struck some of Phoenix's players even before the PBA Governors Cup started.
Yet coach Louie Alas maintains his remaining Fuel Masters remain good to go for their conference debut against the Columbian Dyip Wednesday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
"We're very optimistic," said Alas on the eve of the match.
"Huwag lang kaming ma-out effort, we are in good shape," Alas added.
Based on its first game, Columbian should prove to be a tough nut to crack and not just because Phoenix has the injured Doug Kramer, Willy Wilson, Rey Guevarra and Gelo Alolino listed as gametime decisions.
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The Dyip fought two-time runner-up Meralco on even keel for the most part last Friday before dropping a 106-109 decision.
Despite the loss coach Johnedel Cardel remains upbeat, believing it has what it takes to pull off a few surprises in the season-ending tourney.
"Siguro makakatsamba kami, di ba? Like this Meralco team is a very strong team. S'yempre finals team ito with coach Norman Black... so happy ako na lumaban team ko," said Cardel.
Even Columbian import Akeem Wright was positive after the loss. "I think we battled well all throughout the game," he said.
"We got a lot to be happy about."
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The Dyip continuing to strive for improvement should not stop, according to the American who finished with 30 points and 14 rebounds in his PBA debut.
"We have to go back and watch film and learn from our mistakes," he said. "We still got a lot of things to work on that we need to clean up in the next few days of practice before our next game."
The lessons learned from that game should serve Columbian in good stead against Phoenix and its multiple threats in double-double specialists Eugene Phelps and Calvin Abueva, as well as Matthew Wright.
According to Alas, taking care of the ball and stifling Columbian's uptempo game, anchored on Jerramy King, Rashawn McCarthy and Glen Khobuntin should be key.
"We need to lessen our turnovers, contain their transition offense," stated Alas.(NC)
